SURELY one of the classiest cars at Drag Challenge Weekend was Brodie Olsen’s LX Torana hatch. In fact, with its terrific paint and well-trimmed interior, it looked too good to be abused on the race track.

“Yeah, a few people have said that!” chuckled Brodie. “Sometimes the colour’s purple; sometimes it’s black; sometimes it’s Coca Cola. But it’s really a street car that doubles as a cruiser and all-rounder.”

The paint and trim dates back to the mid-noughties, when fellow Torana fan Jason Ross (this year’s Tuff Mounts 235 Blown winner) was the man jangling the keys.

Brodie bought the car more or less the way it is about eight years ago, and has since concentrated on the driveline, with the Torana accepting a staunch aspo stroker Holden powerplant that’s capable of single-digit runs through a carby drinking 98-brew petrol and rolling on a 235 tyre. Does it get any more ‘street’ than that?

The 383 stroker is mostly the work of Aaron at Tremaniac Engines in Browns Plains. Based on a Holden Motorsport block – a higher-durability four-bolter intended for Touring Car aces such as Larry Perkins back in the day – it hosts a COME crank, Callies rods and SRP pistons under alloy heads. The carb is an APD Dominator on a hand-ported Tremaniac manifold, and the whole shebang swings the engine dyno needle to 743hp. A Bob Grant-built TH350 and a Street Fab nine-inch with 4.11 gears round out the go-fast parts list.

Brodie’s LX put in a top showing at DCW, finishing the week with a best of 9.75 and winning the Tuff Mounts 235 Aspirated class. The Torana handled the heat during DCW quite well, with Brodie and his crewmate, dad Mick, cruising along at a reasonable 80-90km/h. Brodie put the car’s all-round ability – from dealing with heat to running nines – down to Aaron’s considerable experience with fast aspo motors.

“Everything we’ve done with the car has been street-oriented,” Brodie said. “I bought it to have a whole lot of fun in – track days and Sunday pub lunches. But we’ve had to six-point [rollcage] the car recently. The compression is stout, but it’s not 14:1 like some cars. This one runs and races on pump fuel. But we know there’s a lot more potential in the package – a lot more!”

TROPHIES:

WINNER – TUFF MOUNTS 235 ASPIRATED

SPECS:

HOLDEN LX TORANA HATCH
Class: Tuff Mounts 235 Aspirated

Engine: Holden 383ci V8
Transmission: TH350 auto with transbrake
Converter: Dominator 8in
Diff: 9in, 4.11:1 gears
Power: 743fwhp

Previous PB: 9.78@134mph
Best DCW 2020 pass: 9.75@141mph